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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Swans, Snakes, Turtles, Oh My!

Today was such a beautiful day.  Hubby and I went biking.  There's a bike route known as the Upper Charles Trail.  We rode the length and stopped to picnic.  I took a couple of photos, too.  Since most of the area schools started today, only adults used the path.  There were plenty of dog walkers, some runners, a couple of roller bladers, and other bikers like us.

We had a picnic on Lake Louisa.  There was a family there fishing.  The kids were toddlers and their little tackle boxes were so cute.  I remember fishing as a child their age, myself.  My sister use to take me to the Spicket River.  We never caught anything because we never used bait.  She took a stick, tied a string to it.  On the end of the string, she tied a large safety pin.  I don't know why I never questioned her about it.  Kids nowadays are a lot smarter than I was, that's for sure.

I stopped to take a picture of a couple of swans and had a fright.  I tiptoed as quietly as I could across mud, roots, sticks, and leaves, down to the water's edge.  Then just as I was positioning myself to focus my camera, something darted across the lower part of my vision.  I inhaled a gasp.  A big, thick, water snake was coming at me.

I looked again.  It was awfully thick--the size of an arm.  The colors were tan, brown, and back.  What kind of water snake is that?  I noticed how long it was, and then I notice that it branched off.

It was a branch--more of a small log.  And all around it were small turtles sunning themselves.  I think I frightened some of the turtles, and their jumping off caused the movement that caught my eye.  Whew!

Let's pray for more days like this.  Amen.


Galilean Fish Broil

BIBLICALLY BROILED FISH This Lenten recipe comes from “A Continual Feast.”  Note the beautiful story of Jesus appearing to the apostles on t...